Friday, August 24, 2018
Author Jenny Han on the ‘abundance’ of an all-Asian movie cast
PBS NewsHour: It's one of the hits of the summer, a romantic comedy set in Singapore--but it's generating special attention for its casting. “Crazy Rich Asians” is the first major studio film with an all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club,” released 25 years ago. Jeffrey Brown speaks with "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" author Jenny Han about how it feels to see greater ethnic representation on screen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It was powerful to hear Jenny Han say that she would not justify the casting of an Asian-American actress for the lead of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” When she was asked why the lead actress needed to be Asian, the answer was simply that the character she created was a young Asian woman. Others’ need for her to justify this casting choice shamelessly asserted that whiteness is the default and that Han didn’t have the right to challenge it without an explanation. The uprooting of what is normal and accepted in art-- from casting to creative teams to concepts-- allows these stories and artforms to be accessible to an increasingly diverse audience. The desires to be seen, heard, and represented are human, as are the desires to express, produce, and communicate. As audiences and creatives, it is our responsibility to allow others these freedoms, even if they are outside our accepted norm.
Representation matters in all forms. Like Davine said in the above comment "The desires to be seen, heard and represented are human". It is a very powerful when people see someone on screen (not just in a stereotypical way) that looks like them especially when it is mainstream. It does something to their confidence and value (makes them feel like their stories matter and they matter). We are conditioned to accept white as the default for any role and anytime a person of color is put in that role (even when it is not specified), there is backlash. It is not there are no movies with the whole being of a different race, it just that it is not mainstream. When these stories become mainstream, the validation is different. It is a different feeling when you value yourself and when someone else sees and understands your value. I hope to see more of this in mainstream theater and film until it becomes a norm.
Stephanie Akpapuna.
Post a Comment